Jeonnam Provincial Council Candidate Lee Jae-myung's 'Criticism Statement' Election Commission "Verifying Facts"

The controversial statement criticizing Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, reportedly written by some members of the Jeonnam Provincial Council. Photo by Reader Provided

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Jun-kyung] As text messages encouraging participation in a statement criticizing Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party's presidential candidate, written by some members of the Jeonnam Provincial Council, have sparked controversy over violations of election laws, it has been confirmed that the Jeonnam Election Commission is currently investigating the facts.

According to political circles on the 31st, some members of the Jeonnam Provincial Council pre-drafted a statement on the 11th titled "Urging the Withdrawal of Governor Lee Jae-myung's Plan to Provide Disaster Relief Funds to All Residents of Gyeonggi Province" and sent text messages requesting consent in the Jeonnam council members' group KakaoTalk chatroom.

In the group KakaoTalk chatroom, which reportedly included about 70 participants such as Democratic Party, Justice Party, Minsheng Party, independent council members, and public officials, a message was posted saying, "To the members of the Jeonnam Provincial Council, this is a message from Councilor B. Councilor B intends to issue a statement and press release, so please be sure to read the attached materials and let us know by 6 p.m. today whether you will participate. Councilor B said that if there is no indication of non-participation, it will be assumed that you are participating, so please be sure to express your intention."

The statement, reportedly led by some Democratic Party council members, criticized Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party's presidential candidate, urging the withdrawal of Governor Lee Jae-myung's plan to provide disaster relief funds to all residents of Gyeonggi Province.

However, concerns have been raised that the statement not only involved Democratic Party members but also requested participation from council members of other parties and public officials, and that public officials, who are obligated to political neutrality, directly sent messages encouraging agreement to the statement, leading to controversy over violations of election laws.

Public official A explained, "I had no knowledge of the content related to the statement," and added, "The message posted in the KakaoTalk chatroom was written by Councilor B and others who requested me to post it as is, so I just delivered it."

However, some council members raised issues that sharing a statement defaming a specific presidential candidate in the group KakaoTalk chatroom could constitute a violation of election laws.

One council member pointed out, "Supporting the candidate you want is not defamation. However, demanding council members to 'inform if they will not participate in the statement; if no opinion is given, it will be assumed they are participating' clearly has the potential to cause controversy."

A Jeonnam Election Commission official stated, "We are currently verifying the facts regarding the statement and the content of the messages," and added, "If any illegality is found later, we will initiate an investigation."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.